Toronto Is Full Of Fake Houses That Look Normal On The Outside But Are Hiding Something
Today, we're letting you in on a secret: not all Toronto homes are exactly as they seem.
In fact, some contain high voltage equipment that could pose a safety risk — although, only the ones that house transformers for Toronto Hydro.
Editor's Choice: 8 Game-Changing Secrets Every Canadian Should Know Before Ordering At McDonald's
Toronto Hydro operates approximately 90 municipal transformer stations that were originally constructed to resemble the houses and buildings in their respective neighbourhoods.
Toronto Hydro
That's right — Toronto Hydro started building houses in the 1940s to blend into their surrounding neighbourhoods, except these homes weren't available to house families. Instead, they housed transformers.
"Constructed to look like thousands of other small bungalows in Toronto, these substations were so authentic that they were sometimes broken into by burglars," says the City of Toronto.
Although Toronto Hydro does not release the addresses of these homes, the Globe and Mail reported the locations of a few disguised homes around the GTA.
A few of the locations of these ghost homes include 555 Spadina Rd. in Forest Hill, 640 Millwood Rd. in Leaside and 54 Reid Manor in Etobicoke.
There are two important things to note with these properties:
First, an explosion is quite rare and only happens when too much electricity floods through a transformer, according to Popular Mechanics.*
Second, you should never enter these urban oddities under any circumstances, says Toronto Hydro.*
"Municipal transformer stations contain high voltage electrical equipment," Mallory Cunnington of Toronto Hydro told Narcity.
"Like with all electrical equipment, we encourage everyone to be aware of their surroundings and maintain a safe distance."
You can thank us for your newest tidbit of Toronto trivia later.
*This article has been updated.